A/N: I love the amount of support I got from reviews concerning the introduction of elements from the manga. I cannot say exactly how it will play into things, especially with how the arcs are coming along. Thanks to Gamelover41592, Constipated Genius, doubledaman, HankFlamion18, Jargas-thelost, skidney, Emerald Rose nee Potter, Reverseflash, Ryan Mashall, The GreatBubbaJ, Phenomenal Ultra Instinct, Couch (Guest), Ciel Moony, MrHustle42, Rahul raj (Guest), and Nathaniel999 for your wonderful reviews.

Hopefully the next chapter will come out much quicker, though I cannot guarantee with the several projects I have in the works, along with the fact I begin training for a new job in a couple weeks.

As always, big thanks to my beta!

Chapter 24

The world around Izuku was hazy yet bright, visible yet a dream. He sat up and found himself not at the training camp, but in a mysterious place. It felt familiar and alien, as if Japan drifted like a drunken man into Korea and failed to move away. Yet he felt calm, at peace, aware of himself and everything around him, as he had never experienced before. And just beyond the thinnest of the smoke, he could see seven figures, ones he both knew and didn't. Their eyes glowed, focused upon him with an intensity that made him wonder whether they were friend or foe, yet there was a sense in him that he could trust them with anything. His green eyes scanned them, taking in their outlines. There was one, the thickest—the darkest through the smoke—that he could recognize, but the name escaped him.

"It was time we spoke, Nine." They spoke in unison, yet Izuku could pick out each separate voice. Men and women, old and young, were represented. "You have had One for All for years, yet you have not drawn upon the power of the vestiges."

"Vestiges?" Izuku questioned, standing. His legs were a little shaky, but they held him upright. He stepped forward and the forms shifted, moving to slowly surround him. He pressed on, letting them slide about until he was at the center. It felt appropriate when he was here among them to be in the center.

As if he was expected, somehow, to know that he should do so.

"We are the previous vessels of One for All. Our power is your power, built up over time as it passed for one to the next." Their voices had remained merged, yet separate.

Izuku frowned and then a curious thought, more a whisper from the back of his mind, came from his mouth. "Were you all quirkless in your real life, or were some of you born with quirks of your own?"

"Some did and some did not. The first thought he did not, but it was his that made One for All possible."

Quirk transference. Izuku had researched the subject and found himself immediately stumbling into the realm of conspiracy theories. The form of the quirk that comprised the backbone of his quirk was mirrored by the quirk held by All Might's truest foe. Transference was the basis of One for All, that much he knew. But to know that it could pick up and move additional quirks—

All Might told me that One for All uses a compounding quirk to increase the power of each consecutive vessel. That it transfers their strength from one to the next. And if it can transfer raw strength to make him one of the most powerful Pro Heroes to ever exist, then there's no reason to think it can't move along other quirks.

"I can use the quirks you had in life, can't I?" Izuku asked.

"In time," one voice said.

"But you must not abandon your current training," another added.

"To chase an uncertainty," a third concluded.

"Speak with your mentor about us and the vestiges," the seven said in unison. "A time will come when you will speak with us in turn, but you are not ready yet. And do not let your mind focus on us when you awake. Danger is near…"

Izuku woke with a start. He found himself in the small medical ward. Pixie Bob turned to face him and sighed with relief. "You're awake. When you passed out, we became worried. We've never had a student pass out like that. Some fall asleep after eating, but never right after training ends."

"Just a…complication with my quirk, I guess," Izuku said. His mind swirled with the words he had exchanged with the vestiges. "I should be fine as long as I eat. Did I miss dinner?"

"You didn't, actually. Only been a half hour since you slumped over." Pixie Bob gave him a skeptical look, though he was somewhat thankful she wasn't questioning him. "If you're certain you're fine, then okay. I sent a message to Recovery Girl about this anyways, though I haven't heard back yet. Try not to strain yourself too much tonight."

"Wait, tonight?" Izuku asked. "What's tonight?"

The pro hero flinched, grimacing. "Ah, I forgot that was supposed to be a secret for a while longer. Forget I mentioned it."

Izuku sat up and nodded. "How long until I'm released?"

"In time for dinner. Your friends have been worried about you." Pixie Bob paused, glanced at the door, and added, "I'm surprised none of them are—"

"Deku!" several voices shouted as the medical ward's door was slid open. He looked over and grinned as they entered. Half of his class and even a few students from Class B had come to visit him.

"Sorry about scaring you guys," Izuku said with a sheepish smile. "Just a nasty side effect from my quirk."

"Really? I didn't know your quirk had bad side effects," Kirishima said., grinning "It was scary, seeing you faint like that. Your eyes all rolled up into your head and everything."

"I…I don't remember that," Izuku admitted. "It felt more like I was falling asleep. You know, as if I was so tired I just had to fall asleep."

It's not like I can tell them about my dream or vision or whatever that was.

"Now that we've seen Deku is fine, we should let him be," suggested Iida. "We are cooking dinner tonight."

There were a few grumbles, but most of them appeared to be excited for food. They made their way out and one even promised to let Katsuki know he was fine. Izuku frowned, surprised. Is…is Kacchan worried about me? He shook the thought away and went to stand.

"Whoa," Pixie Bob said, rushing over. "Did I say you were released, Midoriya?"

He froze, staring at her with a dumb, open-mouthed expression. He hadn't even thought of being dismissed. There were two thoughts on Izuku's mind: Katsuki and food. "Uh, well…"

She snorted, grinning. "Go on. The food will do you some good anyways."

"Thanks," Izuku said and with that, he made his way to join the others. There was something of an uproar when he arrived outside where a mixed group of his classmates and the other class were cooking food.

"Anything you want, Midoriya?" Kendou asked, overseeing Monoma, Katsuki, and Shouto as they tried to work together.

"Could you make katsudon?" he asked, hopeful for his favorite.

"You heard him boys!" Kendou declared to the three. "Midoriya wants katsudon so we're making it."

He couldn't tell if he should laugh or be terrified, watching the Class President of Class B more or less coerce the three students with the greatest personality defects—respectable defects, that is—and potential in their combined classes into making his favorite dish. Well, at least try to make it. None of them had a clue how to make it, even if they were aware of what it was made of. Izuku didn't think it was that great, but the fact that Kendou was willing to try and they went along was meaningful to him.

(It also didn't hurt, he'd admit a few months later, that Kirishima proclaimed it, "The most manly thing I've seen at camp!" while tears rolled down his cheeks.)

The two classes ate dinner under the setting sun, enjoying the fruits of their labor. The two long tables were set close enough that it was easy for conversation to roll from one to the other and back. Izuku found himself at the center of one long conversation, where several of his fellow heroes-in-training pressed him on why he had passed out. He did his best to sidestep and avoid their questions, mostly because he had no idea how to get around the issue. Repeating what he said earlier didn't work, since those who had already heard it tried to dig deeper into the issue.

"It's something I need to discuss with my mentor first," he ended up saying. "My quirk is…strange. Almost bizarre, you could say. Half the time I find myself surprised by some of the things I can do." Like potentially use the quirks of those who had One for All before me.

For the moment, it seemed to pacify them. Only Katsuki didn't appear satisfied with the answer, which didn't surprise Izuku. He, out of everyone in Midoriya's life, was the most aware of the oddities Izuku had gone through in the past five or so years. Even his mother was less aware, if only for how Izuku worked to keep his mother separated from the worst of the darkening world of heroes and villains. It pained him to keep her in the dark as much as he did, but it would keep her safe in the long run. Or at least, that was what he told himself.

Once they had all ate their fill, Mandalay, Aizawa, and Blood King came to join them. "Good news everyone," Mandalay said, grinning. "We'll be having a fun activity tonight for those of you who passed your finals—which, I'm afraid, is not everyone. The rest will be with Eraserhead here."

Izuku glanced at the three separated from them by Aizawa-sensei. He knew that Ashido and Kaminari had failed, but seeing Monoma from Class B join them was almost amusing. The copycat tried to boast how his class only had one failure, but when it was him that was said failure, it fell flat and only led to Kendou incapacitating him with the chop of a massive hand. He collapsed to the ground, left to the tender mercies of the other failed students and Aizawa-sensei.

After they were gone, Mandalay continued. "With it being nighttime, there's nothing better to do than a Test of Courage!"

That drew a buzz of excitement from the students to match the pro heroes'. Izuku felt drawn into it. He'd never done a test of courage, though he was very familiar with the concept. Every third slice of life anime produced featured one during their twelve episode run and they were often funny or romantic episodes.

Not the time, he mentally reminded himself.

With everyone else, he listened as Mandalay described how they were changing up the usual formula of tests of courage. Due to some mysterious incident a century ago, it was heavily frowned upon to use quirks during a test. "However," she said, grinning, "Since all of you are training to become heroes, we decided to let you use them. Now, do be careful with exactly what you do, cause we could get in trouble for this. Using your quirks as minors here, while technically legal, is supposed to be strictly supervised, which this technically isn't."

Izuku noticed a few awkward smiles in the crowd, but few reacted negatively to the announcement. He had barely thought about the laws concerning minors using quirks in months, but then he had been operating on that technicality through much of the past few years.

It took nearly half an hour of arguing, debates, and underhanded deals before they could start. Izuku found his partner for the test switching several times as people jockeyed for who they wanted to go into the forest with. Class B departed during that time, heading to find positions along the looping circuit from which to frighten Class A. In the end, he found himself paired with Uraraka, who's naturally pink cheeks turned a nice shade of crimson whenever she looked at him for more than a few seconds. He thought she had a crush on him, but he interacted with so many of his classmates so often that he wasn't sure when such a crush could've formed. The Entrance Exam? He pondered, his green eyes meeting her brown ones when she glanced over. I'm probably just overthinking it.

The sun was nearly setting when the first pair—Mineta and Shouji, the latter who was the only person able to control the worst of the former's more perverse impulses—headed into the woods. It was only after the first scream that Mandalay sent in the second pair, Kirishima and a fuming Katsuki. Pair by pair, the members of Class A loitering in the main clearing shrunk until only eight remained.

That was when Izuku spotted smoke in the distance. Smoke drawing closer, reflecting the light of the fire that produced it in great, choking waves. He made his way over to Mandalay and asked, "Is anyone else up in these mountains?"

She glanced at him, distracted as she listened for the signal to send the next pair. "Not within a dozen klicks. Why?"

"I think someone is out here with us," he said, directing her attention to the smoke. It had grown closer and Izuku could make out the color of the flames. They were blue, not the oranges and reds of more natural fires. That is produced by a quirk. A nasty quirk, too.

"You may be right…" Mandalay muttered. "I have a question: when's the last time you saw my nephew?"

Izuku frowned, drawing from the blur the past two days had been until the name returned to him. "Kota? Not since yesterday. He doesn't like us heroes-in-training, so he does his best to stay away from us."

"Shit." Izuku blinked, hearing a curse pass through the lips of a pro hero. He had never even seen a shaky amateur video online catch a pro hero swearing. Mandalay looked towards where the flames were coming from, though not directly towards the center of the inferno. "He's probably at his favorite spot. He's been going there since his parent's died. The cliff overlooking the compound, where there's a cave. They…"

Izuku didn't wait to hear what Mandalay was going to say. He was going to become a hero, one who would succeed All Might. There was no time to wait when an innocent child was in danger, even if he hated pro heroes.

The moment smoke reached Katsuki's nose, he knew something was terribly off. And it wasn't because he had learned the quirks of everyone in both his class and the other with them following his embarrassing failure during the Sports Festival. He looked up and saw an eerie blue glow coming over the trees, and even in a few spots through the dark undergrowth.

"What is it?" asked Kirishima, voice tense with a blend of anxiety and anticipation. Katsuki glanced over at the redhead and realized they had stopped along the path of the test of courage. He hadn't even realized they stopped.

"Something is about to happen," Katsuki said, flexing his hands. He could already feel sweat begin to build up on the nimble digits. "Something bad. Worse than that attack back during the beginning of the year. Be prepared to fight, shitty hair. I think the villains learned where we are."

"I'm with you all the way," Kirishima said. Katsuki watched as his fellow hardened his fists. "You think we should head back to where we started?"

"No. The others ahead of us may not have noticed yet, plus the entire class of sidekicks is out here with us. A hero doesn't flee until everyone is safe."

Kirishima nodded with a grim expression. "Got it. Should we head towards the smoke then?"

With a crack of his knuckles, Katsuki smirked. "Let's do it." He paused and looked back. "What was your hero name again?"

Kirishima snorted. "Crimson Riot." He paused and then beamed at Katsuki. "We using hero names, then?"

"Might as well," Katsuki said. "And even if they won't like it, we're using quirks. If they're really villains and not some foolish idiots that partied like drunk Americans, we'll need them if we wanna take them down."

They broke into a slow job, staying aware of their surroundings. Even with the bright blue flames before them, the darkness of night disguised much of the forest around them. Several times they nearly tripped on the underbrush as they cut through towards the worst of the flames. That is where the villains will be, Katsuki mentally justified. If I take down the one behind the flames, they will have to break off whatever other attacks they have planned for tonight.

"I hear someone up ahead," Kirishima said. Katsuki nodded, and slowed them to a quick walk.

"Best to let them be surprised coming upon us," he whispered. The noise—a few sets of footsteps—grew closer. Several long, heart-pounding seconds passed until they stepped into the small, insignificant clearing before Katsuki and Kirishima.

They were not villains, as they had thought, but their classmates.

Grapes, Tentacles, and Birdbrain came stumbling upon them. Katsuki frowned, trying to draw up their names. Eh, doesn't matter right now. Crimson should know, so I'll just let him use their names.

"Where's Kouda?" asked Kirishima, not giving Katsuki the reminder he had hoped for. And then a thought struck him:

Who the hell is that?

"We got separated when the smoke first rolled in," said Birdbrain. "He noticed that the bugs were being agitated by something, though he followed after them faster than we could keep up. I did not realize he could move so quickly through the forest."

Tentacles nodded and added, "We were on his trail, but it went cold right as we ran into you." The tip of one of his tentacles turned from a nose and into a mouth. "Safety in numbers," it said. "Too much smoke about."

Katsuki nodded. "Yeah, I could tell. You three still want to find the Bug-whisperer or you wanna join Crimson and I as we put down the attacking villains?"

"I'll come with you," said Tentacles. He glanced at the other two. They both shook their heads and Katsuki was tempted to call them cowards for not joining them. "When you find Kouda, find one of the Pussycats and let them know we're out here."

Ah, Katsuki thought, blinking. That's…that's a good idea. Why didn't I think of that?

"Understood," said Birdbrain. "Be careful, all of you." And with that, he and Grapes continued along the route they had been on before being stopped.

"Come on then," Katsuki snarled. He puffed smoke from a series of tiny explosions around the other fist. "We have some villains to take down."

"Let's do it," Kirishima added and Tentacles nodded.

Izuku panted, staring down at the defeated villain. He had come in the nick of time, saving Kota before the monstrous villain could kill the young boy. His chest heaved, struggling to draw in breath as he recuperated from the short yet brutal fight. The amount of power the villain had been able to draw forth as his muscles overtook his skin and form was tremendous, nearly on par with All Might.

It's for the best that those with a heroic spirit possess the power of One for All.

"Are…are you alright?" Izuku asked, turning to the boy. He was still sitting on the distressed rocky ground, eyes wide with tears and awe.

"Yeah," he eventually answered, smiling. "I… I'm sorry. For being so rude to you."

Izuku grinned. "You don't need to apologize," he said, grinning. "I'm a hero. It's my dream to save people and protect them. Like…like your parents did, and I believe they wouldn't want you to hate them for what happened to them, but love them for who they were."

Kota nodded. His eyes were rimmed with a faint pink and Izuku feared the boy would cry. Instead, he sniffled a couple times and then looked back towards the camp. "Someone started a forest fire."

Izuku turned and spotted what Kota had seen. Giant black plumes of smoke hung over the forest, rolling like a slow, hungry wave come upon a low shore. Worse was the sight of blue flames in the trees, driving forward at a pace that chilled his blood.

That is one of the other villains, he realized, fist tightening so much the bones and tendons groaned from old wounds.

"Let's get you to safety first," Izuku said. He squatted and looked back at Kota. "This'll be faster than me carrying you and I can better defend us if another villain has come around this way."

The boy nodded, gathering his courage, and stepped forward to climb onto Izuku's back. Kota held tightly around the hero-in-training's neck, his hands both holding each other and grasping part of Izuku's shirt into tight fists.

He sprung forward, leaping high over the tree canopy and was able to cross a long distance before descending beneath the green leafy foliage. Izuku felt like he was in one of those old, terribly bland animated shows where people traveled through the forest by jumping from branch to branch. And yet he found himself doing the same with a grin on his face. After what could've been seconds or minutes, he leapt clear of the trees and landed before the main compound. Pixie Bob was outside, acting more nervous than he'd ever seen her. She turned as he approached and released a massive sigh.

"You found Kota," she said, grinning. The small boy slid off of Izuku's back and dashed over.

"He saved me!" Kota said, grinning. "Like a hero and everything!"

"It was nothing," Izuku said, rubbing his arm. "Are the others safe?"

Pixie Bob shook her head. "Mandalay alerted me to several possible attacks by villains over by where the test of courage was happening. I'm surprised she wasn't able to connect with you."

Izuku frowned. "I got caught up with a villain attack when I reached Kota. The villain is still up by where Kota likes to spend time by himself, though unconscious. The area around there was, uh, destroyed by our fight."

"You're planning to head back out there, aren't you?" questioned Pixie Bob.

"I have to," Izuku admitted. He looked down at one of his hands, tightening it into a fist. "The villains are after two of us. Kidnap, not murder."

"Who's the other?" asked the pro hero.

"Kacchan," he said before grimacing. "I, uh, mean Bakugou Katsuki."

"Childhood friend?" she asked. Izuku gave her a noncommittal shrug, earning only an eye roll. "Yeah, yeah. I'll let Mandalay know so she can get the word out." She paused, staring at him intently, and then sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but be careful. The villains are targeting you as well and we don't need any of the students being captured. Or worse."

"I understand," Izuku said. "We'll all come home, safe and sound." And with that, he sprung back into the forest, traveling towards the source of the smoke.

It's where Kacchan will go.

"We have received intelligence about the villain's goal," impeded the mental voice of Mandalay. Katsuki snarled having the voice in his mind, again but he wouldn't deny he had wanted something like what she was now giving out. It had been convenient being given permission to use his quirk, though he had planned on using it regardless of whether he was given permission. "They are planning to kidnap two students: Katsuki Bakugou and Izuku Midoriya. Please ensure their safety until the villain attack can be repelled."

"Let them come," Katsuki growled to his companions. They nodded, though there was an uncertainty to them that riled his anger.

"We should find Midoriya," recommended Tentacles. "There is safety in numbers and if we can draw both of their targets together…"

"We can bring them into an ambush and keep them from going after other targets," finished Crimson Riot, grinning with sharp teeth. He glanced around and frowned. "I just wish this fog would go away."

"Poison gas," Katsuki said, grimacing. "I don't think it'll kill, but you never know. These villains did talk big about killing All Might a few months ago."

"What do you think its for?" asked Tentacles.

Katsuki glanced at the tall hero-in-training, frowning. "Disable, likely makes anyone who breathes in too much pass out. Think of Midnight's quirk, but more dangerous."

Crimson sighed. "I wish Yaomomo was here. She could whip up some gas masks for us."

Katsuki only nodded. He wasn't sure exactly who 'Yaomomo' was, but he was certain that she was definitely in their class. Only Deku interacted with the kids from the other class, beyond that blond weirdo who kept provoking him. Damn, I am easily provoked, aren't I? Stupid of me. Villains could take advantage of that.

He sighed, growling in the back of his throat, and turned to the others. "I hate to say this, but with the poison gas cloud, we should head back towards the compound. We aren't, well, equipped to handle the gas accordingly." Katsuki paused as Crimson grinned at Tentacles. He wished the taller fellow didn't wear that mask so he could know what he was feeling. "But if we run into a villain, we're taking them down. Tentacles can drag them back to the Pussycats."

"Just live with it," Crimson said when Tentacles tried to protest how he was named. Katsuki rolled his eyes at the attempted protest. "I doubt he'll ever call me Kirishima, let alone Eijirou."

Katsuki bit his tongue, holding back the amusing thought of calling Crimson by either of his given names. He was so used to viewing those around him as C-listers like in the ancient American comics he read as a kid that remembering names, faces, and quirks had gone from a passing interest to a tidbit he didn't care for. With his recent fight with Deku against All Might so fresh in his mind, along with that freaky encounter with the villain, perhaps he'd be better off trying to be a hero like Deku—selfless, headstrong, and never willing to back down.

Now that I think about it, Katsuki began to realize as they pressed through the dark, smoke clogged woods; all I'd need would to be selfless. I already have an amazing quirk, and the other stuff, too. And then I can also not have people like that mind control kid look down at me as if they're better.

There was a crash in the woods nearby. Katsuki was the first to move towards it, rubbing his hands to increase sweat production. Without the gloves from his uniform and in the chilly night, he had to find other means to produce the glistening chemicals his quirk naturally produced. He sprung over underbrush, dodging around trees as shouts and groans joined the crashing noises that grew louder as he got closer.

He burst forth, micro-explosions warming his hand, and came upon a sight that drew a growl from Katsuki. The floating girl and frogger were fighting some crazed blonde bitch who looked like one of those freaks from the ancient pornos him and a couple other kids had watched during their middle school days.

"Oi!" he shouted, drawing their attention. "Looking for me, bitch?"

The crazed blonde looked up. Katsuki had been convinced, seeing her freak out while fighting, that her face couldn't get any more disturbed. He was clearly wrong, for her grin threatened to literally break her face and it appeared that her eyes were twitching off towards the sides as if she were some lizard person.

"You weren't the one I was hoping for, but I'll take ya!" Something about her voice pinged a memory shoved down into Katsuki's memories. "Maybe if I bring you in, they'll give me Deku-kun!"

"YOU!" he screamed, pointing at her as he landed barely a meter away. "You're that crazy bitch who talked to Deku about blood and shit."

"No shit, only blood," the crazy girl protested, pouting. "I'm not that sort of freak."

"At least she admits she's a freak, kero," said frogger. "She was nearly orgasmic talking about wanting to be the one she loves. It was really disturbing."

"Yeah, I'm thankful I missed that," Katsuki grumbled, raising cupped hands. "I know her from when she went up to Deku during our internship and introduced herself as if she were desperate."

"Seemed desperate to me," frogger added.

"I'm right—" The crazed villainess would've continued protesting, but Katsuki opened up point blank with his quirk. The explosion was condensed—a simplified, weakened form of a technique he'd long been thinking of for a special move—and it caught the villain unawares right in the chest. She went flying, a scorched circle on her school vest.

"This has been the weirdest day," mumbled floating girl, getting to her feet. "I'm going to take the longest bath to get the feeling of her off me."

"Can't blame ya," Crimson said, as he and Tentacles finally caught up. "We heard everything, well everything after Bakugou showed up."

"Code names, Riot."

"Ah, yeah. Explodio."

"Do we have permission to use them?" asked floating girl.

"Might as well," croaked frogger. She turned to Katsuki. "Mine is Froggy, since you forgot."

"I didn't forget!" he shouted, lying through his teeth. Frogger was close anyways.

"Of course you didn't, kero."

Katsuki turned away from frogger—he wasn't going to use something as childish as Froggy, dammit—and back to the villain. Who had, while they were briefly distracted arguing, slipped away.

"Cowardly bitch!" he screamed, firing a massive explosion into the air above them. With that, Katsuki stalked off in the direction that villain had most likely gone in. By the time morning came, he swore he'd blast her…to something.

It depends on how fuckin' angry I am when we catch her.

Izuku was thankful he made the choice to find Kacchan instead of searching out every other heroes-in-training and helping them, one by one. As much as he'd like to aid them all, he knew that if the villains captured even one student, it would paint a black mark upon U.A. Plus, it was much easier to find Kacchan than anyone else, especially after the thunderous blast was just fired into the sky around twenty meters to his left. He bounced off a thick tree branch and then used the trunk of the next along his path to reorient towards the blast.

He knew that it would be easier to reach Kacchan if he leapt high above the tree canopy, but with the villains as eager to find him as they were with his childhood friend, Izuku knew he had to trade speed for secrecy. For who'd look for the future All Might in the canopy?

There was a clearing where Kacchan was, he discovered as he soared out of the forest and landed nearby. With him was Kirishima, Ochako, Asui, and Shouji, all slightly battered and rough looking, but ready to fight villains.

Kacchan's red eyes immediately turned towards him and he growled. "What the fuck are you thinkin', Deku? You blasted nerd, why're you makin' it easier for them?"

"I have to agree with Bakugou," Asui said. "Especially with that freaky villain lady."

Izuku frowned. "Freaky?"

"You remember that chick who came onto you during the internship?" Kacchan asked. "The creepy blonde who mentioned blood?"

"Wait, you mean Toga?" Izuku asked. He did remember her, and while he had been uncomfortable around her, he only assumed she was one of those odd ducks who preferred villains to heroes for whatever strange reason they had. Several, as claimed online, had blood related quirks, and he couldn't blame them. It was disturbingly common for them to be bullied as heavily as the quirkless, and at times even worse. "You mean Himiko Toga, that really weird fan girl?"

"You remembered my name?"

Izuku ducked, turning to find the same blonde girl, now wearing a large pack with thick needles, trying to tackle him. Her grin sent a nasty shiver down his spine and he found himself twisting midair to avoid her jabbing weapons. He landed hard on his back and thrust up his arms to shove her away. She was sent tumbling, landing in a crashing thud before rolling over a few times.

"Unfortunately I do," Izuku muttered, getting to his feet. His fellow heroes-in-training surrounded the downed villain, though she made no effort to stand.

"Where're your friends?" Kacchan asked, small explosions rippling across his hands.

"Near," Toga said, grinning widely. She looked away from him and towards Izuku. "Leader wants him very much, especially after their little talk at the mall." Her eyes flickered to Kacchan as she added, "You too, blasty."

"What is she talking about?" asked Kirishima.

"Shigaraki caught me off-guard at the mall before the trip," Izuku admitted. He joined the ring of heroes-in-training. "Why does he want Kacchan?"

Toga giggled. "He thinks blasty can be turned."

"Turned?" asked Ochako. "What do you mean, turned?"

"A villain," Kacchan sneered. "That piece of shit thinks I can be turned into a villain." He paused and sighed. "I was being hyperbolic when I said I'd kill him. Now, I'm feeling rather serious about it."

"He'll be happy to hear," Toga said, finally rising to her feet. She pulled out a white and black wrapped package and ripped off one end with her teeth. A small phone slid out and she auto-called the first number. "Though you aren't the main target."

"Huh?" they asked, vaguely united, and then Toga lunged at Izuku. He was caught flatfooted, and as she slammed into him, the shadows behind him turned thick and dark.

There's a teleporting villain, he remembered, as Izuku and Toga were drawn into the portal and away from his friends.

As they crashed onto the floor of a small bar, Midoriya Izuku realized the League of Villains had captured him.